


Christmas Traditions

by flawedamythyst



Series: Sergeant Snuggles [5]
Category: Marvel
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M, die hard is a christmas movie, snuggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28453359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flawedamythyst/pseuds/flawedamythyst
Summary: Clint is late back from a mission on Christmas Eve and nearly misses one of their traditions.Written for bennyhawk02.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Sergeant Snuggles [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/703653
Comments: 20
Kudos: 83





	Christmas Traditions

Bucky was sulking. He was trying to hide it, but Steve knew him way too well to not know exactly what was happening in his head. The clearest sign was that he’d put Sergeant Snuggles on but was not actually cuddling anyone, despite having two boyfriends near-by who’d have happily accepted a hug. Steve was on the sofa with Tony relaxed against him and there was plenty of space for Bucky as well, but instead he was just slumped on the floor in front of the couch and had wrapped his padded arm around himself instead. 

As Clint wasn’t in the Tower either, it meant there was a lot of empty space on the oversized couch. Tony had Squishy McSoft-Bean casually propped against his leg, as if it were there entirely by chance and not as a stand-in for their missing boyfriend.

The elevator pinged and Bucky jerked around, but it was just Natasha. She ran her eyes over the three of them, raised an eyebrow, and then disappeared without saying a word.

Bucky deflated back down again.

“Sometimes missions just go on longer than planned,” said Steve as helpfully as he could.

“Fuck off,” muttered Bucky.

It wasn’t as if Tony and Steve weren’t missing Clint as well. He’d been off on this mission for nearly two weeks and they were all feeling the empty place in their relationship where he should have been, making bad jokes and hoarding the coffee and being the first to realise when they need a quiet emotional chat, just the four of them, while denying he was good at relationships at all.

Fuck, Steve was really missing Clint, but this was just how it went when you had three boyfriends with busy lives. Sometimes Tony went off on a business trip that went on too long, or Bucky disappeared to take out a Hydra base, or Steve was the one heading off for a world security conference. This time it was just Clint’s turn.

The difference this time was that Bucky and Clint had a Christmas Eve tradition of watching _Die Hard_ , and Clint had promised he’d be back for it. Well, they all watched _Die Hard_ together, but Tony fiddled with one of his Starkpads and Steve usually brought along a sketchbook and spent more time concentrating on getting the lines of his boyfriends’ faces right than he did on watching Bruce Willis. Clint and Bucky were the ones who actually cared about the movie. The first time they’d watched it together had been the first Christmas Eve Bucky had been in the Tower, before they’d even fallen into this relationship together. Even if Steve didn’t get what was so great about it, he respected what it meant to them.

“We can watch it when he gets back instead,” said Steve. Bucky’s shoulders hunched over and he didn’t say anything, but Steve could feel his unhappiness with that idea radiating off him. Steve glanced at Tony, who just shrugged back, clearly not sure what to do about the grumpy super-soldier either.

“Shall we put something else on for now?” asked Tony. “Steve, wanna make some cocoa and popcorn?”

“Yeah, sure,” said Steve, starting to stand up, and then there was a thump and a crash, and the cover on the air vent went flying. 

The dusty, dishevelled shape of Clint appeared through the hole, descending to the floor in what looked more like a controlled fall than a deliberate jump. “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!” he managed, and then collapsed as his legs gave way.

“Clint!” said Bucky, already up and moving with Steve and Tony right behind him.

Clint look battered, bruises and cuts all over him and his clothes torn and ruined.

“I’m not too late,” he said, attempting to stand up and then falling back down as his legs wobbled under him. Bucky had wrapped his arms around him but there was still space for Steve to drop at his side and run over his body, looking for any major injuries. “I made it. Had to rush a bit, but I made it. Yippee-ki-yay, Bucky.”

“Sure you did, sweetheart,” said Bucky. “Now just take a second to breathe, and tell us where it hurts, yeah?”

Steve couldn’t see anything major, so he let himself reach out and touch Clint, running a hand through his hair and wincing at the feeling of greasy dust.

“Doesn’t hurt anywhere,” said Clint, and Tony snorted with disbelief.

“Want to try that one again, Cupid?”

Clint sighed. “Okay, kinda hurts everywhere, but only, you know, aches and bruises, nothing that’s gonna stop me watching _Die Hard_ , I swear Bucky, I’m not gonna miss it.”

“No, you’re not,” agreed Bucky, glancing over at Steve with a raised eyebrow that Steve knew how to read all too well. “Can’t miss something that can’t happen without you there. You’re gonna have a bath and something to eat first though, maybe a nap.”

“Maybe a full night’s sleep,” said Steve, firmly. “ _Die Hard_ can wait until tomorrow.”

Clint slumped. “Aw, no, then it’s not the tradition,” he said. “It’s only been three years, I don’t wanna fuck up already.”

“You’re not fucking up,” said Bucky, “hey, come on. You’re not fucking anything up. You made it back to us in one piece, so you’re doing fine.” He gently kissed Clint’s temple and Clint sighed, and slumped a bit further in his arms.

“Haven’t had any Christmas traditions before,” he muttered, probably not intending to say it out loud, and Steve winced and then glanced at Bucky and Tony, seeing the same looks on their faces. “Not gonna miss this one.”

They’d all had pretty shitty childhoods, in one way or another, but Clint was the one who hadn’t ever seemed to have a proper Christmas or birthday, or anything like that, until he was well into being an adult. The first year they’d all celebrated together, they’d all talked about the things they remembered from when they were kids that they wanted to carry on. Tony found the recipe for cocoa that his old butler used to make for him, Bucky remembering decorating the tree with his family, Steve talking about going to Midnight Mass with his ma and how he’d always liked the carols best. They’d changed it all around, made it work for them, so that they started Christmas morning with cocoa and carols piped over JARVIS’s speakers, and when they decorated the tree they all did it together, with all the Avengers pitching in and bringing out their favourite decorations.

Clint, though, Clint hadn’t had anything to add. He’d just joined in with all of their traditions and never once added any of his own, or talked about his family Christmases.

“Traditions are flexible,” said Tony, “the best ones, anyway, the ones that stick.”

“Exactly,” said Steve, and moved in closer to Clint, gently wrapping his arms around him as Bucky moved back to allow him space. He picked Clint up, standing with him cradled in his arms. “Maybe giving you a bath on Christmas Eve will become a tradition.”

“I’m hoping you being beaten to shit won’t be,” said Bucky. “I’m gonna get the bath running, find the bubbles you like.”

He strode off towards their room as Steve brought Clint after, Tony helpfully opening doors for him. Clint sighed and relaxed into Steve’s grip, resting his head on Steve’s shoulder, and Steve thought, not for the first time, that being able to hold his boyfriends like this was one of the best parts of having gone through the super-soldier process.

They got Clint bathed and patched up and settled in bed, against a stack of pillows, wearing his _Die Hard Is A Christmas Movie_ hoodie.

“Oh, hey, hang on, got a thing,” said Tony as soon as he saw it, and disappeared from the bedroom. 

“Well, that’s not worrying,” said Bucky, who had made the same soup he always made when one of them was injured and was curled up next to Clint while he ate it off a tray on his lap.

“Ten bucks says it’s a sex toy,” said Clint, taking another careful sip of soup. He looked much better now with the dirt washed off, even if the bruises were still showing darkly against his skin. Steve let himself settle next to him, putting an arm around him that rested against Bucky’s shoulder on the other side.

“Seems pretty cruel to give you a sex toy when you’re all battered and not able to use it,” said Bucky.

Clint shrugged. “I could watch you guys use it. I’m never opposed to a floorshow.”

It wasn’t a sex toy though, and it wasn’t even for Clint. When Tony came back he had one of the presents from under the tree, something soft and a bit floppy, wrapped in red star-covered paper.

“No point in giving you this tomorrow,” he said, handing it to Bucky. “You’ll want it tonight.”

Bucky gave him a suspicious look, but obligingly sat up and ripped the paper off.

It was another version of his Sergeant Snuggles arm cover. He had a handful of them now, littered around the place so he was never too far from being able to give the rest of them a hug. This one was black, with the words ‘Yippee Ki Yay, Motherfucker’ written all down the length of it in bright red.

“Oh my god, I’m kinda jealous,” said Clint, staring at it. “That’s perfect.” He’d finished his soup so Steve took the tray away, setting it on the floor next to the bed to be dealt with later.

Bucky flashed Clint a bright grin, then got up to change over the one he was wearing for the new one. “Thanks, Tony, it’s perfect,” he said, once it was in place. He admired it for a moment, then took two swift steps and wrapped Tony up in one of his firm, engulfing hugs. “Thank you.”

Tony melted into his arms, the way he always did when he got a really good hug. “No worries, Merry Christmas Eve,” he said. He hesitated for a moment, then pushed out, “I love you,” as well. He wasn’t so good with expressing his affection still, but he was getting better at it. Better at believing them when they said it back as well.

“Love you too,” said Bucky, then added something quieter that Steve didn’t catch.

“What are the chances of you letting me go back to the lounge so we can watch it?” asked Clint.

Tony pulled himself away from Bucky and turned to him. “Why would we have to go back to the lounge?” he asked. “JARVIS, cue it up.”

There was a flicker of light on the wall opposite the bed, then it lit up with the 20th Century Fox logo, projected large enough to be more like being in a movie theatre than watching on a TV.

“What,” said Clint, staring at it. “Tony, what the fuck? Why the hell didn’t I know we could watch shit in bed?”

Tony shrugged, heading over to settle on the bed, curling into the V of Steve’s legs and resting back against his chest, where Steve could hold onto him and press a kiss to the top of his head. “You never asked?”

Bucky settled back next to Clint, wrapping his new Sergeant Snuggles around him so they could cuddle in close as the movie began. “Clint’s right, we coulda been watching all kindsa shit in here.”

“By which you mean porn, right?” said Tony, and then had to lean over to high-five Bucky when he held his hand up.

“You know it, baby.”

Steve cleared his throat. “No need to watch any porn when we get up to creating enough of our own.”

“Oh yeah, we do,” said Tony, in the sleazy tone that meant he was probably waggling his eyebrows.

And yeah, they’d had a lot of sex in this room, and hopefully they’d have a lot more, but this was what Steve liked best. Having all his fellas snuggled in close and safe, feeling that warm glow of being home with the people he loved.

This was a tradition Steve was happy to bring back every year for the rest of his life.


End file.
